7 of the World’s Most Stylish Luxury Train Journeys Worth Dressing Up For

There are holidays where getting from A to B is simply a necessity. Then there are journeys where the travelling becomes one of the best parts.

Luxury train travel belongs firmly in the latter category. It brings together many of the things we love about a great escape – beautiful interiors, exceptional food, changing scenery and the opportunity to dress up for dinner – while removing much of the usual rush associated with modern travel.

It also fits perfectly with the growing interest in changing the way we travel and embracing slow travel. Instead of airport lounges, security queues and tightly packed itineraries, there are private cabins, elegant dining cars and hours in which the only real requirement is to sit back and watch the landscape change outside.

From safari country in South Africa to the Scottish Highlands, Spain’s historic cities and Australia’s vast interior, these are seven of the world’s most stylish train journeys to put on your travel wishlist.

1. Rovos Rail, South Africa

Best for: Safari experiences, vintage glamour and spectacular scenery

Few railway journeys capture the romance of another era quite as convincingly as Rovos Rail.

Known as the Pride of Africa, Rovos Rail operates a collection of journeys through Southern Africa aboard trains characterised by polished wood, traditional furnishings and an intentionally unhurried atmosphere. It is the sort of experience where dressing for dinner feels entirely appropriate rather than overly formal.

While some Rovos itineraries are substantial adventures spanning several countries, you don’t necessarily need weeks to experience life aboard.

One particularly appealing option is the luxury train Durban to Pretoria journey, which combines two nights aboard with approximately 800km of South African scenery.

The route takes passengers through KwaZulu-Natal and towards the Highveld, but this isn’t simply a case of watching Africa through a carriage window. The itinerary combines time on the rails with wildlife and cultural experiences, giving passengers the opportunity to see another side of South Africa along the way.

For those who have always dreamed of an African wildlife experience, it also offers an interesting alternative to a conventional safari holiday. There’s a reason a wildlife safari continues to feature on so many travel bucket lists.

Back aboard, the pace changes.

Elegant dining cars set the scene for leisurely meals, while the lounge and observation areas are made for settling into a comfortable chair with a drink as the landscape rolls past. Private suites complete the feeling that you’re travelling in a boutique hotel that just happens to be moving.

It’s this combination that makes Rovos Rail particularly special. You can spend part of the day exploring South Africa before returning to the train, changing for dinner and watching the countryside disappear into the evening.

For a first taste of African luxury rail travel, it’s difficult to imagine a more memorable introduction.

2. Royal Scotsman, Scotland

Best for: Highland romance and a luxurious escape closer to home

Luxury train travel doesn’t have to begin with a long-haul flight.

Belmond’s Royal Scotsman takes the romance of grand railway journeys and places it against one of Britain’s most atmospheric backdrops: the Scottish Highlands.

Think deep lochs, forests, mountains, tiny stations and enormous stretches of countryside viewed from the comfort of an elegant carriage.

With a relatively intimate number of guests aboard, the experience feels more like a travelling country house than a conventional train. Days are built around exploring Scotland, while evenings return the focus to life aboard.

And there is plenty of style involved.

The interiors embrace traditional Scottish influences without losing the sense of luxury expected from a high-end hotel. Dinner is an occasion, rather than simply another meal, making this exactly the sort of trip where the smarter pieces in your suitcase finally get the attention they deserve.

Perhaps most appealingly, the Royal Scotsman makes somewhere relatively familiar feel completely different. Seeing the Highlands from a luxury sleeper train is a reminder that extraordinary travel experiences don’t always require crossing continents.

3. The Blue Train, South Africa

Best for: Timeless elegance and a classic South African journey

South Africa has more than one claim to luxury rail fame.

The Blue Train has become one of the country’s best-known railway experiences, combining private suites and fine dining with the simple pleasure of watching South Africa unfold outside the window.

The appeal lies partly in the contrast.

Outside, the landscapes can feel enormous and untamed. Inside, the surroundings are comfortable and refined, allowing passengers to experience long-distance travel without sacrificing the pleasures of a luxury hotel.

There are lounges in which to spend an afternoon, beautifully presented meals and private accommodation where you can retreat when you want a little more peace.

It also lends itself particularly well to a wider South African itinerary. A luxury railway journey can be combined with city stays, wine regions or a safari, creating a holiday where the transfer between destinations becomes an experience in its own right.

For travellers who find airports increasingly uninspiring, that alone is rather appealing.

4. Golden Eagle Luxury Trains

Best for: Big adventures without giving up the comforts

Luxury train travel can sometimes conjure images of leisurely weekends and Champagne in dining cars, but it can also be a surprisingly adventurous way to see the world.

Golden Eagle Luxury Trains specialises in the latter.

Its itineraries take travellers across countries and regions that lend themselves beautifully to overland exploration, including parts of Central Asia and Europe. Some journeys follow sections of historic trading routes, creating the feeling of a genuine expedition – albeit one where you return to a private cabin at the end of the day.

That’s the clever part.

Traditional multi-country touring can involve an exhausting cycle of packing, checking out, travelling, checking in and repeating the process a few days later. On a private train, your room comes with you.

Days can therefore be spent exploring historic cities, local cultures and extraordinary landscapes before returning to familiar surroundings aboard.

It is a style of travel that should appeal to anyone who wants their luxury with a little more substance: less about staying inside a resort and more about seeing somewhere genuinely different.

5. The Ghan, Australia

Best for: Epic landscapes and seeing Australia’s scale properly

It is almost impossible to appreciate the sheer size of Australia from a map.

Travelling aboard The Ghan gives you a rather better idea.

The legendary train travels between Adelaide and Darwin through Australia’s interior, turning what could simply be a long-distance transfer into one of the country’s great travel experiences.

This is a landscape made for a window seat.

Red earth, enormous skies and seemingly endless horizons create views that feel worlds away from everyday life in Britain. Rather than disappearing beneath an aircraft in a matter of hours, the scenery changes gradually around you.

The journey isn’t limited to watching Australia pass by, either. Depending on the itinerary selected, off-train experiences allow passengers to explore key destinations and gain a closer understanding of the places along the route.

Once back aboard, private accommodation and dining provide a welcome contrast to the wilderness outside.

For British travellers planning a once-in-a-lifetime Australian holiday, The Ghan also solves an interesting itinerary problem: instead of treating the enormous distance between north and south as something to endure, it turns it into one of the highlights.

6. Al Ándalus, Spain

Best for: Vintage style, Spanish food and romantic escapes

There is something about southern Spain that naturally suits slow travel.

Perhaps it’s the long evenings, the architecture or the fact that good food rarely feels like something that should be rushed. Whatever the reason, Al Ándalus feels perfectly at home here.

The train embraces the visual romance of vintage railway travel, providing an atmospheric base for exploring Spain without the usual inconvenience of changing hotels every few nights.

That means you can spend your days discovering historic cities and cultural landmarks before returning to the same cabin each evening.

And this may be one of luxury rail’s most underrated pleasures: you unpack once.

There is no dragging a suitcase over cobbled streets or trying to remember which hotel wardrobe you left something in. Your room simply travels to the next destination while you enjoy dinner.

Al Ándalus is particularly suited to couples looking for an alternative to the traditional European city break. It offers the culture and cuisine you’d expect from a trip through Spain, but the journey between each stop becomes part of the experience too.

7. Britannic Explorer, England and Wales

Best for: Rediscovering Britain in serious style

One of the newest names in British luxury rail is also an interesting reminder that you don’t always have to go very far to feel as though you’ve escaped.

Belmond’s Britannic Explorer brings the luxury sleeper experience to journeys through England and Wales.

The idea is deceptively simple: take landscapes many of us have travelled through before and change the way we experience them.

Instead of staring at the motorway ahead, you might be having dinner while the countryside passes outside. Rather than arriving tired after several hours behind the wheel, the travelling itself becomes part of the holiday.

There is something particularly attractive about that approach to British travel.

We can be surprisingly quick to book flights halfway around the world while overlooking landscapes closer to home. Seeing them from an elegant train – with your own cabin, good food and nowhere you urgently need to be – offers a very different perspective.

For a milestone birthday, anniversary or simply an excuse to make a weekend away feel significantly more special, it deserves a place on the wishlist.

What do you actually wear on a luxury train?

Part of the fun of luxury rail travel is that it gives you an excuse to make a little more effort than you might on the average holiday.

That doesn’t mean spending the entire journey in formalwear. The key is finding the balance between looking polished and staying comfortable – something that applies whether you’re boarding a sleeper train or simply trying to travel in style without trying too hard.

During the day, comfortable but considered pieces make sense, particularly when an itinerary includes excursions. Think well-cut trousers, knitwear, breathable shirts, midi dresses, loafers and footwear you can comfortably walk in.

Evenings are where you can turn things up slightly.

Some trains and individual journeys have their own dress expectations, so always check before packing, but smart dresses, tailoring, elegant separates and a good jacket rarely feel out of place in a beautiful dining carriage.

The trick is to pack pieces that can be mixed and matched. Railway cabins aren’t designed for enormous suitcases, and travelling light feels considerably more glamorous than fighting with three bags in a corridor.

A capsule-style approach works particularly well. British Style Society’s tips for packing for a summer holiday similarly recommend planning outfits and choosing mix-and-match pieces rather than packing an outfit for every possible eventuality.

For shorter luxury rail journeys, the same principle becomes even more important. A couple of versatile daytime outfits, one or two smarter evening combinations and sensible footwear will usually go much further than an overfilled suitcase. These tips on what clothes to pack for a small trip away are a useful starting point.

Why luxury train travel feels so right now

For all the nostalgia surrounding grand railway journeys, their renewed appeal feels surprisingly modern.

Travel has become fast, efficient and often stressful. We can cross countries in hours, but the experience of doing so is rarely memorable for the right reasons.

Luxury trains reverse that idea.

Instead of asking how quickly you can reach the destination, they encourage you to enjoy what happens along the way.

You notice the landscape. Lunch isn’t squeezed between connections. There is time for conversation, reading and doing very little at all. At night, you go to sleep in one place and wake somewhere completely different.

It’s also a form of travel where packing thoughtfully pays off. If the idea of hauling a huge suitcase through a railway carriage doesn’t sound particularly luxurious, these packing tips for travelling light offer plenty of sensible ways to streamline your luggage without sacrificing style.

Ultimately, luxury rail is slow travel in the most literal sense, but without sacrificing comfort. The train isn’t simply transportation between the interesting parts of your holiday. It is one of the interesting parts.

Which luxury train journey is right for you?

There isn’t one obvious winner because each of these trains offers something quite different.

For wildlife and African scenery, Rovos Rail would be difficult to beat, particularly if you want to combine a luxury train journey with a wider South African adventure.

The Royal Scotsman is ideal for Highland landscapes and a quintessentially British escape, while The Blue Train delivers another interpretation of classic South African railway glamour.

Travellers seeking a genuine overland adventure should look towards Golden Eagle Luxury Trains, whereas The Ghan is all about understanding the extraordinary scale of Australia.

For European romance, Al Ándalus combines Spanish culture with vintage railway style, while the Britannic Explorer proves that an indulgent rail adventure doesn’t necessarily require leaving Britain at all.

Whichever route appeals most, the real luxury is arguably the same: time.

Time to look out of the window. Time to enjoy dinner. Time to dress up simply because the occasion deserves it. And time to remember that sometimes the most memorable part of a holiday is not where you arrive, but how you get there.